‘Oppenheimer’s David Krumholtz To Star In Dark Comedy ‘Forelock’

EXCLUSIVE: David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) has signed on to star in Forelock, a dark comedy marking the solo feature directorial debut of Caleb Alexander Smith (NCIS).

The filmmaker also stars in the pic, which he scripted. Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian), Alimi Ballard (Queen of the South), and Chloe Farnworth (MaXXXine) round out the cast.

Forelock centers on a naive fitness enthusiast (Smith) seeking a fresh start in Los Angeles, watching as he collides with a Hollywood Boulevard grifter (Krumholtz) who exploits his uncanny resemblance to the world’s most famous superhero.

Pic is the first for Midnight Chimes, the film and TV production company founded last year by award-winning sports journalist and broadcaster Lindsay McCormick and Smith. McCormick is producing, with Russ Hammonds (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Diplomat) exec producing alongside Krumholtz. The film is co-financed by Midnight Chimes LLC, with production currently underway in Los Angeles.

“It’s an honor to collaborate with so many true artists both behind and in front of the camera,” Smith told Deadline. “Even as a sardonic comedy, Forelock is a deeply personal story, and I’m thrilled I don’t have to take the journey alone.”

Added Krumholtz, “I’m super jazzed and grateful to have been asked to be an integral part of Caleb’s crystal clear unique vision for Forelock. Playing Randy is an exquisite challenge, a character portrayal that I hope will surprise audiences far and wide.”

Part of the SAG Award-winning ensemble of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, in the role of Manhattan Project physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi, Krumholtz is also known for turns in the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Hail, Caesar!, as well as Disney’s The Santa Clause franchise, comedies like This Is the End and Superbad, and more. The actor also previously starred in Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award-winning play, Leopoldstadt, earning a Drama League Award nomination for his work.

Best known for playing Special Agent Gage Winchester on CBS’s NCIS, Smith has also been seen on shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Modern Family, and Station 19, among others. Previously, he co-directed the thriller The Spearhead Effect, which was acquired by The Orchard (now 1091 Pictures) after playing festivals like Dances With Films. 

Krumholtz is repped by Paradigm, Brookside Artist Management, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Smith by Sovereign Talent Group, Robert Stein Management, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Swallow by Buchwald and Framework Entertainment; Ballard by Artists & Representatives and Cohn/Torgan Management; and Farnworth by TCG Artist Management in the UK and Framework Entertainment.